Universal vehicle headrest monitor supporting bracket assembly

ABSTRACT

A universal headrest mounting collar which is engaged with the rods of a headrest on a vehicle seat back and supports a video monitor thereon for viewing by a passenger in a rear seat. The bracket can be secured at a fixed vertical position on the headrest rods and collar assemblies surrounding the rods are horizontally slidable in grooves formed m the base of the bracket assembly to accommodate different spacing between headrest rods by different vehicle manufacturers. The monitor mounting element is universally adjustable to modify the viewing angle of the monitor screen.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] This invention relates to video monitors for vehicles such asautomobiles and the like and relates more particularly to supportingmeans for such monitors.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Prior Art

[0004] More frequently vehicles are being designed to accommodate videomonitors, such as TFT LCD screens and the like designed to enablepassengers to watch television programs, prerecorded tapes or DVDs, orto play video games, or even to access the Internet during a trip.Currently, such video monitors come in different sizes, 5″, 5.6″, 7″,etc., and they may be mounted in the sun visor, the dash or on theceiling, but most commonly are supported behind or in the rear of theheadrest of the front seats to entertain or educate passengers seated inthe rear seats.

[0005] Currently available supports for such video monitors are eitherfactory-installed or difficult and expensive to incorporate as anafter-market item.

[0006] Moreover, such video monitors are often fixed in position in thevehicle, and generally difficult or impossible to remove. Thus, theycommonly remain with the vehicle when the driver and passengers leavethe vehicle, making them attractive targets for theft.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] It is a primary object of this invention to provide a bracketassembly which is easy to install in, and remove from, a vehicle andadapted to securely support a video monitor for viewing by passengers inthe rear seats of the vehicle.

[0008] Another object of this invention is to provide a bracket assemblyof the type described which can be temporarily or permanently mounteddirectly on the rods supporting the headrests on the front seats of avehicle.

[0009] A further object of this invention is the provision of a videomonitor-supporting bracket assembly which is vertically positionable ata desired height on the headrest rods, easily adjusted to accommodatedifferent spacing between the rods of headrests in different vehiclesand, also, easily adjusted for secure attachment to headrest rods ofdifferent diameter.

[0010] A still further object of this invention is to provide a bracketassembly designed to removably mount a video monitor to facilitatedisengaging of the monitor from the bracket assembly for storage or usein a different location thereby minimizing theft and maximizing monitorutility.

[0011] Yet another object of this invention is to provide a bracketassembly for a video monitor in a vehicle which enables the position ofthe screen on the monitor to be universally adjusted in a simple mannerto provide a desired viewing angle.

[0012] A still further object of the invention is to provide a bracketassembly for a video monitor to be used in a vehicle which is simple andinexpensive to manufacture, easily installed and removed, and highlyversatile in use.

[0013] Other and further objects of this invention will be readilyunderstood by those with ordinary skill in the art with particularreference to the following detailed description of the preferredembodiments in combination with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0014]FIG. 1 is an elevational view of one embodiment of a bracketassembly according to this invention mounted on the rods of a vehicleseat headrest, with a portion of the seat back shown in dotted lines,and a vehicle monitor mounted on the bracket assembly;

[0015]FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 with the monitor removed;

[0016]FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the bracket assembly base member witha pair of collar assemblies carried thereby for engaging the rod membersof a seat headrest, the location for attachment of the universallyadjustable monitor mounting element being shown in dotted lines;

[0017]FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the base member of FIG. 3with the collar assemblies removed;

[0018]FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 3,with the collar assemblies removed;

[0019]FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 6-6 of FIG. 3,with the monitor mounting element secured to the base member by auniversal joint, portions of a vehicle seat headrest rod and a monitorbeing shown in dotted lines; and

[0020] FIGS. 7-9 are perspective views of the bracket assembly of thisinvention seen from different angles.

[0021] Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout theseveral views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] The foregoing descriptions and drawing should be considered asillustrative only of the principles of the invention. As noted, theinvention may be configured in a variety of shapes and sizes and is notlimited by the dimensions of the preferred embodiment. Numerousapplications of the present invention will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art. Therefore, it is not desired to limit the inventionto the preferred embodiments or the exact construction and operationshown and described. Rather, all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

[0023] Referring now to the drawings in general, and particularly toFIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional seat back of a vehicle seat is shown indotted lines at 20, with one common form of headrest being shown at 25secured by a pair of spaced rods 26, 28 slidably and removably engagedin openings 22 in the top portion of the seat back 20 for verticaladjustment of the headrest to accommodate drivers and passengers ofdifferent heights.

[0024] The nature of the vehicle seat itself, the headrest or themechanism for vertically adjusting the headrest relative to the scatback is not part of the instant inventive concepts. For all intents andpurposes, however, substantially every front vehicle scat currentlymarketed carries a vertically adjustable headrest normally supported bya pair of spaced rods such as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. A latch of somesort (not shown) enables the headrest to be fixed in avertically-adjusted position and totally removed from the scat back in awell known manner. This invention takes advantage of this relativelyuniversal headrest attaching construction to provide a unique monitorsupporting system.

[0025] A bracket assembly according to this invention is designatedgenerally by the reference numeral 30 in FIG. 1 and is shown as carryinga video monitor 35 for illustrative purposes. The nature of the monitor35 is also not a part of the instant inventive concepts. As noted above,video monitors can be used for a variety of purposes. The video inputcan be integral with the monitor, can be fed from a separate DVD or tapeplayer secured under the seat or elsewhere, and can even be receivedfrom a computer or the like. Similarly, the power source for the monitoris not a part of the instant inventive concepts and could be battery ofany sort, including the vehicle battery. Commonly, however, such videomonitors have a threaded aperture in their base (not shown) which may beused to mount the same on the bracket assembly 30 as discussed below.

[0026] According to the preferred embodiment of the instant inventiveconcepts, the bracket assembly 30 seen best in FIGS. 3-6, comprises abase member 40 which can be formed of metal, plastic or the like, a pairof collar assemblies 45 and a monitor mounting element 50 secured to thebase member 40 by a universal joint assembly 55.

[0027] The base member 40 preferably has a depending peripheral flange40 a and includes a pair of spaced, elongated grooves 42, each of whichslidingly receives a collar assembly 45 in a manner to be discussed inmore detail hereinafter. Further, a plurality of openings 44 areprovided to receive threaded set screws or the like (not shown) toattach the universal joint assembly 55 to the base member 40.

[0028] Preferably, each of the collar assemblies 45 is movable in itsrespective groove 42 to accommodate different spacing between rods ofvehicle headrests by different vehicle manufacturers, although forpractical purposes, only one of the collar assemblies 45 needs to bemovable to accommodate such spacing differences. Each collar assembly asshown include a bolt member 60 having a central through-opening 62adapted to slidingly receive a rod 26 of the headrest 25. An enlargedhead 64 of the bolt member 60 underlies the base member 40 and the shaftor extension 66 passes through its associated groove 42 and has externalthreads thereon.

[0029] A separate nut member 68 can be provided to threadably engage theshaft 66 to secure the bolt member 60 in a fixed position along thelength of its respective groove 42. Again, only one collar assembly 45needs to be lockable in a specific position in its respective groove 42,even if both collar assemblies 45 are movable, since fixing the positionof one collar assembly will, in combination with the headrest rodspacing, automatically locate the other collar assembly in its groove.Alternatively, or additionally, a lock nut or cap 70 may be providedwhich will accomplish the same purpose and, additionally, interact witha resilient annular element or bushing 72 to grippingly secure thecollar assembly 45 in a selected vertical position along the length ofits associated headrest rod 26.

[0030] As seen in FIG. 6, the bushing 72, which may be made of aresilient plastic or rubber material, has an internal opening 74 ofgenerally constant cross-section, with a tapered wall 76 adapted to besqueezed inwardly by the angled portion 78 of the lock nut 70 to reducethe diameter of the bore 74 to grip headrest rods of differentcross-section, for example, rods from 9 mm to 13 mm which is used byvarious automobile manufacturers.

[0031] The monitor mounting element 50 is generally L-shaped and has avertically extending backing portion 52 and an integral, generallyhorizontally extending, shelf portion 54 with an aperture 54 atherethrough to receive a thumbscrew 80 for engagement with the threadedopening in the base of a monitor 35 as discussed above. This arrangementwill permit securely supporting monitors with a variety of screen sizeson the generally L-shaped monitor mounting element 50.

[0032] The universal joint assembly 55 is designed to enable the viewingangle of the monitor 35 carried by the mounting element 50 to beadjusted about both vertical and horizontal axes. The details of theuniversal joint assembly 55 are not critical to the instant inventiveconcepts and any means to enable the monitor screen to be adjustedside-to-side and up-and-down will function effectively in the bracketassembly of this invention.

[0033] The embodiment of the universal joint assembly 55 illustrated inFIG. 6 includes a pair of elements 85, 86 having ridged mating surfaces85 a, 86 a. The element 85 is attached to the backing portion of themounting element 50, and the element 86 has a concave surface 88, whichmates with a convex surface 90 on the universal joint supporting member56 attached to the base member 40. A screw and nut assembly (not shown)passes along the axis 94, through the elements 85, 86, through anelongated slot (not shown) in the element 88 and ultimately through theelement 90 to lock the elements in a selected adjusted angularrelationship. When loosened, the screw defines the axis 94 enabling theviewing angle of the monitor screen to be adjusted side-to-side aboutthe surfaces 85 a, 86 a, with the surface 88 on the element 86 beingslid along the convex surface 90 guided by the screw to adjust thevertical relationship of the viewing angle of the monitor screen.

[0034] The use and operation of the bracket assembly of this inventionwill now be obvious to the skilled artisan. The factory headrest isremoved from the seat back and the rods of the headrest are slid throughthe openings in the collar assemblies 45, at least one of which can beadjusted side-to-side along the grooves 42 to accommodate differentspacings between the rods. The rods are then reinserted into the upperportion of the seat back in a conventional manner. The collar assembliescan then be locked in place, both side-to-side in the grooves 42 andvertically on the rods 26 as described above.

[0035] A video monitor can be fixed to the L-shaped mounting element 52by the thumb screw 80 and the monitor adjusted via the universal jointassembly 55 to present a desired viewing angle to a passenger in therear scat. The video monitor can be readily removed from the bracketassembly for storage or use in another location. The bracket assemblyitself can be retained permanently on the headrest rods or can bereadily removed for storage or use in another vehicle, if desired.

[0036] It will now be seen that this application discloses a bracketassembly for a video monitor to be used in a vehicle which satisfies allof the foregoing objects, and others, providing many advantages of greatpractical utility and commercial importance. The foregoing descriptionsand drawings should be considered as illustrative only of the principlesof the invention. Numerous applications of the present invention willreadily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is not desiredto limit the invention to the preferred embodiments or the exactconstruction and operation shown and described. Rather, all suitablemodifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within thescope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A bracket assembly for supporting a video monitorbehind a vehicle seat wherein the vehicle seat includes a seat back witha top portion, a headrest, and a pair of spaced rods supporting theheadrest and secured in the top portion of the seat back, said bracketassembly comprising a base member, a pair of rod-receiving collarassemblies carried by said base member and defining openings adapted toslidingly receive the rods of the vehicle seat headrest, a monitormounting element carried by said base member, and means for securing amonitor to said mounting element.
 2. The bracket assembly of claim 1,wherein said base member includes portions defining at least oneelongated groove, at least one of said collar assemblies being slidinglysupported in said groove for movement relative to the other of saidcollar assemblies to accommodate different spacing between the rods ofthe vehicle seat headrest.
 3. The bracket assembly of claim 2 whereinsaid one collar assembly includes securing means adapted to selectivelyfix said one collar assembly against sliding movement in said groove. 4.The bracket assembly of claim 3 wherein said one collar assemblycomprises a bolt member having a central through-opening adapted toslidingly receive a rod, said bolt member including an enlarged headadapted to seat on one side of said base member and a shaft adapted topass through said groove and having a terminal end portion, and a nutmember adapted to threadably engage said shaft on the other side of saidbase member to secure said one collar assembly in a fixed position insaid groove.
 5. The bracket assembly of claim 4 wherein said one collarassembly further includes locking means adapted to grippingly engage arod passing through said through-opening of said bolt member to fix saidone collar assembly at a selected position along the rod.
 6. The bracketassembly of claim 5 wherein said locking means includes a resilientbushing positioned in said opening in said terminal portion of saidextension of said bolt member, and a lock nut threadably securable onsaid shaft adapted to squeeze said bushing as it is threaded onto saidshaft to grip a rod passing therethrough.
 7. The bracket assembly ofclaim 6 further including means to adjust the diameter of said openingin said one collar assembly to accommodate rods of differentcross-section.
 8. The bracket assembly of claim 7 wherein said bushinghas an internal opening of generally constant cross-section and a wallportion of tapering thickness defining said internal opening, thecross-section of said internal opening in said bushing being reduced assaid lock nut is threaded onto said shaft.
 9. The bracket assembly ofclaim 2, wherein said base member includes portions defining a pair ofspaced elongated grooves, each collar assembly being slidingly supportedin one of said grooves, and securing means to fix at least one of saidcollar assemblies at a selected position in its respective groove. 10.The bracket assembly of claim 1 further including a universal jointassembly connecting said monitor mounting element to said base member toenable the viewing angle of a screen on a monitor carried thereby to beuniversally adjusted.
 11. The bracket assembly of claim 1 wherein saidmonitor mounting element is generally L-shaped and includes a shelfportion to support a monitor, an aperture defined through said shelfportion, and a thumbscrew having a head underlying said shelf portionand a threaded shaft extending through said aperture adapted to engage acomplementary threaded opening in the base of a monitor.
 12. Incombination, a vehicle seat wherein the vehicle seat including a seatback with a top portion, a headrest, and a pair of spaced rodssupporting the headrest and secured in the top portion of the seat back,and a bracket assembly supporting a video monitor behind said vehicleseat, said bracket assembly comprising a base member, a pair ofrod-receiving collar assemblies carried by said base member and definingopenings slidingly receiving said rods of said vehicle seat headrest, amonitor mounting element carried by said base member, and means forsecuring a monitor to said mounting element.
 13. The combination ofclaim 12 wherein said base member includes portions defining at leastone elongated groove, at least one of said collar assemblies beingslidingly supported in said groove for movement relative to the other ofsaid collar assemblies to accommodate different spacing between saidrods of said vehicle seat headrest.
 14. The combination of claim 13wherein said one collar assembly includes securing means fixing said onecollar assembly against sliding movement in said groove.
 15. Thecombination of claim 14 wherein said one collar assembly comprises abolt member having a central through-opening slidingly receiving a rod,said bolt member including an enlarged head seating on one side of saidbase member and a shaft passing through said groove and having aterminal end portion, and a nut member threadably engaging said shaft onthe other side of said base member to secure said one collar assembly ina fixed position in said groove.
 16. The combination of claim 15 whereinsaid one collar assembly further includes locking means adapted togrippingly engaging a rod passing through said through-opening of saidbolt member to fix said one collar assembly at a selected position alongsaid rod.
 17. The combination of claim 16 wherein said locking meansincludes a resilient bushing positioned in said opening in said terminalportion of said shaft of said bolt member, and a lock nut threadablysecured on said shaft and squeezing said bushing to grip a rod passingtherethrough.
 18. The combination of claim 17 further including means toadjust the diameter of said opening in said one collar assembly toaccommodate rods of different cross-section.
 19. The combination ofclaim 18 wherein said bushing has an internal opening of generallyconstant cross-section and a wall portion of tapering thickness definingsaid internal opening, the cross-section of said internal opening insaid bushing being reduced as said lock nut is threaded onto said shaft.20. The combination of claim 13, wherein said base member includesportions defining a pair of spaced elongated grooves, each collarassembly being slidingly supported in one of said grooves, and securingmeans fixing at least one of said collar assemblies at a selectedposition in its respective groove.
 21. The combination of claim 12further including a universal joint assembly connecting said monitormounting element to said base member to enable the viewing angle of ascreen on a monitor carried thereby to be universally adjusted.
 22. Thecombination of claim 12 wherein said monitor mounting element isgenerally L-shaped and includes a shelf portion to support a monitor, anaperture defined through said shelf portion, and a thumbscrew having ahead underlying said shelf portion and a threaded shaft extendingthrough said aperture adapted to engage a complementary threaded openingin the base of a monitor.
 23. The combination of claim 12 furtherincluding a monitor threadably mounted on said mounting element.